Transparency for Russia's Rights Record

On June 30, the Russian government took an important step toward transparency on its torture and ill-treatment problems when, for the first time, it authorized the publication of a report by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). The report, which contained the findings of an inspection the CPT carried out in December 2001 at police stations, prisons, psychiatric institutions and military detention centers, cited a "disturbing number of allegations of physical ill-treatment by members of the Militia" and found complaint procedures to be ineffective. On the positive side, the report noted improvements in the situation in prisons and colonies.